BTF

Any thoughts on squeezing Norwell into the Top 25?

Only two games this week could be, I stress "could be", decided by two touchdowns or less. Homestead at Wayne: I think Homestead is better than what their record indicates. They were near misses away from beating both Dwenger and North Side. The beatings they took from Snider and Carroll were done by VERY good football teams. Wayne has the tools to keep this game under 14 points, but.....................I've got the Spartans by 21. Snider at Dwenger: Snider is the better team this year and there is no reason to think they can't beat Dwenger by a few touchdowns. But all bets are off when these two meet. Last year they traded games by double digits, but the previous six matchups were decided by 10 points or less. I'll go with history and say.................Snider by 10

I think this is the time of year fans start to pay more and more attention to how Sagarin ranks teams........with the exception of the SAC and SIAC. And to Nortwood's credit, they are ranked ahead of Warren Central. I can see Rodney's point......sort of. Warren Central's is still a solid 6A team and were competitive with both Center Grove and Ben Davis. Northwood seems to be clicking on all cylinders right now though. I think it would be close.

One of only two 4A North teams in Sagarin's Top 10. I think Kokomo will be Northwood's top contender. Northwood is more battle tested with the stronger schedule, and just appears to be the better team at this point. Time will tell.

Carroll FW: This team isn't rich in history and have been average at best since Dinan took over 12 years ago. Last year they put their best ever football team on the field. I never expected this year's version to be better, especially since they lost their three year starting quarterback. Kudos to the Chargers for reloading and continuing to improve. There's a gut feeling this year that when Indy comes calling, they'll give them a game.

Lol, what? Versus last years field? That would be Cathedral and Zionsville. That's a 100% "no". Or this years field? GS's 2021 team ranks 6 or 7 in 5A this year.

I have Snider and Merrillville as the top two teams in this class right now (no disrespect to the south, just my opinion). I have the two teams dead even. Maybe the difference in this one is the long bus ride. That being said, Mishawaka, Dwenger, and North Side will be ready to end any talk of a Snider/Merrillville semi-state. Snider is 0 for their last 3 sectionals and were wasted by a sub par Saints team just a year ago. Anything can happen. But the north takes it this year.

I would argue that two years ago doesn't equate to 2022 and Mishawaka was never really the #1 team in the class.

I wouldn't bet on any 3A teams beating Snider or Merrillville. In 4A you have New Pal and Roncalli. But those two would beat most 6A schools.

Care to elaborate here?

The SAC has the same issue. One weeks is absurdly low, then the next week is absurdly high. It's hard for me to argue Week 7 though. Carroll and Snider at 10 & 14 seems fair to me.

Norwell over Gibson Southern

6A: Cathedral over Carmel 5A: Snider over Whiteland 4A: New Pal over Northwood 3A: Norwell over Chatard 2A: Mater Dei over Luers 1A: Indy Lutheran over North Judson

There are a few other teams that I questioned whether or not they could beat the Warriors, but Northwood wasn't one of them. I see your point though. To Warren Central's credit, they didn't exactly get blown out by Center Grove and Ben Davis. Thanks for the poll Temp, good stuff.

No Warren Central?

I never thought I'd see the day when Snider bumped down to 5a and Dwenger bumped up to 5a and the class would be considered "down." Losing teams like Cathedral, Zionsville, and Westfield will do that I guess.

I thought we all agreed that Sagarin doesn't make any sense when it comes to three of the better teams in 5a north............Snider, North Side, and Dwenger. So why are we taking that into consideration? Let's not underestimate the Pirates for losing to a pretty good Crown Point team. Mishawaka might actually be a pretty darn good team. And no one really knows how good Snider and North Side are until the tournament gets here. I wouldn't underestimate them though. "Extremely weak" is extremely naive in my opinion.

Crown Point beat Merrillville by 8 points. I'm confused.

Elaborate a little more on "extremely weak." Please don't say "because Zionsville moved up to 6a." Give us more than that.

Interesting. Not saying you're wrong, just interesting.

Homestead is down this year. Northrop will be a bye for whoever draws them. HSE/Fishers will advance with ease. They can't necessarily fall asleep when they play Homestead. But if they put their best foot forward, they could win by four touchdowns.

What's done is done, they won't play again and Crown Point can call themselves the better team in 2022.

Absolutely Mishawaka can be there. They could be the best team in the north for all I know. North Side will be the underdog in their sectional, but they'll play Snider like their lives depend on it. I'm just not sure the Legends can put together three near perfect games in a row to get to state.

Would love to see Carroll and Crown Point match up head to head, but Penn and Elkhart might have something to say about that. Barring any upsets, Snider and Merrillville appear to be on a collision course. I'll be pulling for an SAC vs DAC in the 6a & 5a semi-state. For now I'll just stick with Temp's ranking of CP, Carroll, Snider, then Merrillville. Time will tell.

I'm presuming yes. He has HSE four spots ahead of Carmel in his poll.